Two of the most popular and best places in Dubai are Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR). Both offer very different experiences depending on your preferences! So today, we will be looking into where is better stay for a vacation. We even touch on where is better to live if you’re considering the expat life in Dubai.
Where is better to live? Where has more things to do? Which has the best hotels? Which is better overall? Downtown Dubai or Jumeirah Beach Residence?
Read on below to find out where each location has its strengths and weaknesses!
Where Is The Best Location?
The location is essential as you want to find the best one to suit your needs! To determine whether Downtown Dubai or Jumeirah Beach Residence has the best location, we will mainly be looking at the sceneries of the areas, the amount of attractions, and the facilities close by.
Downtown Dubai is located central to the city in one of the most urban areas.
Downtown Dubai has the great benefit of being surrounded by must-see attractions and venues, so you are unlikely to miss out. In fact, you will be in the heart of the action! Downtown Dubai is home to the famous Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Fountain, The Dubai Mall, and the Dubai Creek, to name a few.
Due to the tourist-central location, there is also a good range of restaurants serving different cuisines and food shops for you to enjoy!
The only real downside to Downtown Dubai is that it is located over 5km from the nearest beach, so if you’re a beach person, this area may not be the best option. However, if you’re a city slicker, Downtown Dubai is the ideal location!
Now over to Jumeirah Beach Residence, which is located at the shore of the city by Dubai Marina.
JBR is ideal for those looking for a sandy and scenic getaway. It is a very popular neighbourhood for families for this reason. JBR has all sorts of fun water based entertainment so if you are looking for thrilling and fun activities, it’s ideal for you.
There are jet skis, yachts, parasailing, skydiving, and kayaking, all a short distance away. You can also unwind and enjoy the beautiful seaside views, whilst being in walking distance from a diverse range of restaurants which accommodate for a variety of budgets.
The downside to Jumeirah Beach Residence is the opposite of Downtown Dubai, JBR is located a bit out of the way from the major attractions like the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, but you can always take a city tour.
Overall, it’s hard to determine whether Downtown Dubai or Jumeirah Beach is in the best location. They both offer something very different, one being the city life and the other being a family beach area.
So for location, we’d call it a tie.
READ HERE: Our Full Guide to Jumeirah Beach Residence
Downtown Dubai or JBR for Things to Do?
When you go on holiday, you want to make sure you will have plenty of experiences to add to your memorable trip! But where offers the best things to do? JBR or Downtown Dubai?
As we’ve already noted, Downtown Dubai is home to some of Dubai’s most famous attractions and surrounded by plenty of restaurants. Scenic sights such as Burj Park, Safa Park and the Dubai Creek are also not far away too.
However, a slight issue is that a lot of Downtown Dubai’s attractions are quite expensive. Also a lot of these attractions are things you are likely to do only once or twice, especially when considering the price.
But if you are having your city shopping break and have come prepared to spend lots of money, then this may not be an issue.
Jumeirah Beach Residence offers a whole bunch of exciting attractions and activities from lounging and playing on the beach to Minigolf and Escape Rooms.
Objectively, a lot of these activities are likely to be cheaper than the ones Downtown Dubai offers. Along with that, many of these activities you can enjoy again and again, after all who doesn’t love the beach?
Below we have highlighted the main things to do in each area.
Things to do in Downtown Dubai
- Burj Khalifa
- The Dubai Mall
- The Dubai Fountain
- The Dubai Opera
- Burj Park
- DIVR
- Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo
- Sofitel Spa Dubai Downtown
Things to do at JBR
- Flying Cup
- TEPfactor Dubai
- The Beach @ JBR
- Escape Rooms
- Minigolf
- Stereo Arcade
- Watersports
- Natureland Spa
- Watersports
- Skydiving
We’d say overall, Downtown Dubai has more renowned tourist attractions, but these are not likely to be things you’ll do again and again especially when you factor in the cost. However, Jumeirah Beach Residence has a huge variety of activities which are likely to be at a much lower cost and are easy to enjoy time and time again.
For that reason, we would say that Jumeirah Beach definitely comes out as the winner for things to do.
Verdict: JBR
Downtown Dubai or JBR for Hotels?
Of course, accommodation is key to any stay! You want to feel treated and pampered especially if you are venturing to a luxury location such as Dubai.
To determine which has the better hotels, we took to TripAdvisor to look at the most highly ranked 4* and 5* hotels in each area to compare the cost and facilities.
A look through the hotel prices will show that they are both fairly costly, but Downtown Dubai averages out at around 750AED – 1,275AED per night. Jumeirah Beach Residence comes out slightly less at 510AED – 1,021AED per night.
As you can see, JBR generally offers slightly cheaper options, but you can of course find more luxurious and expensive options in the area too. Likewise, although Downtown Dubai offers slightly more expensive options, you can absolutely find hotels for less than these averages if you shop around a little.
Below are our picks for different star rated hotels to see how they compare.
Ramada by Wyndham – Downtown Dubai
Star Rating – 4*
Trip Advisor Rating – 4.5 / 5
Average Price – From 387.50AED per night 2 adults
Website: Ramada by Wyndham
Key Features: Views of Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain. Outdoor and children’s pools, fitness centre, meeting rooms, gift shop, and restaurant.
Address Boulevard – Downtown Dubai
Star Rating – 5*
Trip Advisor Rating – 5 / 5
Average Price – From 1,099 AED per night 2 adults
Website: Address Boulevard
Key Features: Views of the city. Pools and poolside bar, a spa, a restaurant and bar, and fitness centre.
Palace Downtown – Downtown Dubai
Star Rating – 5*
Trip Advisor Rating – 4.5 / 5
Average Price – From 1,099 AED per night 2 adults
Website: Palace Downtown
Key Features: Views of the city, lake, and Dubai Fountain. Pools and poolside bar, fitness centre and sauna, a spa, a restaurant and bar.
JA Oasis Beach Tower – Jumeirah Beach
Star Rating – 4*
Trip Advisor Rating – 4.5 / 5
Average Price – From 510AED per night 2 adults
Website: JA Oasis Beach Tower
Key Features: Views of Dubai Marina and the sea. Restaurant, spa, fitness centre, sauna, and meeting rooms.
Rixos Premium Dubai – Jumeirah Beach
Star Rating – 5*
Trip Advisor Rating – 5 / 5
Average Price – From 842.59AED per night 2 adults
Website: Rixos Premium Dubai
Key Features: Views of the city and the sea. Restaurant and bar, golf, tennis, pools and poolside bar, fitness centre, and spa.
The Ritz-Carlton – Jumeirah Beach
Star Rating – 5*
Trip Advisor Rating – 4.5 / 5
Average Price – From 1,367 AED per night 2 adults
Website: The Ritz-Carlton
Key Features: Views of the sea. Private beach, pools and poolside bar, fitness centre and sauna, a spa, a restaurant and bar.
When it comes to hotels in Downtown Dubai and JBR you just cannot choose. Both offer fantastic stays and for that reason this is another tie.
Although the hotels overall are slightly cheaper in Jumeirah Beach. They both offer different luxury experiences.
Downtown or JBR – Best Place to Live for Expats?
In this section, we will look at whether Downtown Dubai or Jumeirah Beach is the better place to live.
The average cost for a studio apartment in Downtown Dubai is approximately 880,000 AED. The cost for a 1 bedroom apartment is around 1.4m AED. Finally, 2 bedroom apartment costs approximately 2.5m AED.
As for JBR, the average cost for a studio apartment is 945,000 AED. A 1 bedroom apartment stands at around 1.35m AED and a 2 bedroom apartment will cost approximately 1.65m AED.
As you can see, the prices do sway in favour of both areas. If you are living solo and don’t mind a studio apartment, then Downtown Dubai is definitely cheaper. However, if you are looking to have one or more bedrooms, Jumeirah Beach works out significantly cheaper, especially for 2 bedrooms.
One thing to factor in is work, naturally most businesses will operate within the city, so if you live in Downtown Dubai, you’ll certainly have the convenience of being nearby. However, opting for Jumeriah Beach will put you right against the sunny shore. It will come down to weighing up transport costs against the apartment and rental costs to determine which will be your best bet.
After considering both options, we say the best place to live is Downtown Dubai. This area gives you the convenience of being near the city businesses and also within reach of the north and south of Dubai quickly.
Conclusion
So after comparing Downtown Dubai vs Jumeirah Beach Residence, it ends up in a tie!
Both locations offer something completely different. Downtown Dubai has a convenient location and is surrounded by attractions whereas Jumeirah Beach has objectively more to do with a slightly cheaper accommodation cost (Living or Vacationing).
Thank you for reading! Come back for more on Travel & Living in Dubai & Abu Dhabi. Follow us on Pinterest too and make sure you subscribe to our Youtube channel.
